This week, I checked in with execs and analysts to better understand the changes within the hair-care space that are driving today’s marketing, seeding and sales. Accessing professionals is a tentpole of most strategies today, so I sat down with Olaplex CMO Katie Gohman to learn about the brand’s new partnership with on-demand beauty services app Glamsquad. Additionally, E.l.f. Beauty expands its value retail footprint, mall ear-piercer Claire’s files for bankruptcy again, and Soko Glam pops up within 30 Space NK stores in the U.K.
Brands tap pro stylists as competition within the hair-care space grows
Competition within the hair-care sector continues to heat up as new category offerings and brands fight for consumer attention. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen new waterless formats from P&G and Ethique launch, Drybar founder Alli Webb debut products for messy hair, and countless brands flood the growth-focused scrub and serum categories. But it’s the professional sector where much of the industry’s marketing prowess is directed today.
For example, when Estée Lauder Companies launched its newest Aveda oil in June, it tapped pro hairstylists to disseminate the news and educate prospective consumers. Meanwhile, Japan’s largest professional hair-care brand, Milbon, is expanding its U.S. market share through a line created in partnership with Anh Co Tran, an L.A. hairstylist known for his professional masterclasses.
Announced on Tuesday, Olaplex is tapping professional stylists through a partnership with Glamsquad, the on-demand beauty pro booking app that currently operates in 18 U.S. markets including Los Angeles, Miami, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Scottsdale and Atlanta. Glamsquad contracts around 1,000 freelance hairstylists who can be booked on the app for haircuts, color, blowouts and styling in a customer’s home.
“[Professionals have] loved us since the beginning. They’ve just been waiting for us to engage them,” Olaplex CMO Katie Gohman told Glossy. “That’s what all the research has shown us over the last year.”
Olaplex launched in 2014 with a focus on its proprietary bond repair technology but has seen a decline in sales more recently. For example, its net sales decreased by 7.8% during its full fiscal year 2024 and fell by 1.9% in its first quarter of 2025.
However, announced last week, net sales for the brand increased 2.3% for its second quarter of 2025, ending June 30, with two main bright spots: professional sales increased 12.1%, and DTC sales grew by 12.8%. Specialty retail sales decreased 16.7% during the same time.
Part of its turnaround plan under new CEO Amanda Baldwin includes tapping pros for brand awareness.
“We were the only player in the market in the bond category for probably six or seven years, so we didn’t have to do a lot to defend our turf,” Gohman said. “Now we have to say our message louder, maybe more clearly, and we have to do it understanding the dynamics of everything else going on.”
The partnership includes seeding the collection to Glamsquad stylists who can now offer Olaplex products and bond repair add-ons free of charge, including gratis Bond Repair No. 7 oil, which retails for $30 an ounce at retailers like Sephora.
“For right now, we’re looking at this more as a sampling vehicle and awareness play for Olaplex,” Gohman said. “It’s much more about engaging the pros and getting us back on the professionals’ radar.”
As beauty retail becomes more fragmented and consumers continue to trade down for lower-priced alternatives to their go-to products — for which there are many new bond repair offerings — the salon is proving to be a valuable location to meet consumers where they are.
L’Oréal Group is also focused on the pro sector. Last month, the conglomerate reported a 4.9% sales jump in its professional division, while consumer product sales were up just 1.1% during the first half of the year. According to the company, Kérastase had a runaway first half with strong sales on new franchises like Genesis by Kérastase and Gloss Absolu by Kérastase. Other professional wins included Metal Detox by L’Oréal Professionnel, Acidic Bonding Concentrate by Redken and Food for Soft by Matrix. Distribution for these products includes salons and specialty retail.
According to a study last year by Mintel market research company, 60% of U.S. adults have received a professional haircut in the past year, and over 40% have engaged with at least one other salon service, such as coloring, styling or treatments. During that timeframe, only 19% of U.S. adults reported not receiving any professional hair service.
However, if poor consumer sentiment continues — it’s currently down seven points from a year ago and 10 points from 2023, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers — these numbers could fall.
“Many of the product types and categories that will be moderately impacted by U.S. tariffs are considered discretionary by beauty consumers,” said Carson Kitzmiller, principal analyst for U.S. beauty and personal care at Mintel market research company. “Professional services at spas and salons will be considered non-essential by many and will either be eliminated from routines altogether or reduced in frequency.”
Still, stylists will be a hallmark of Olaplex’s marketing strategy in the coming months as it leans deeper into pros.
“Ten years ago, the best way to communicate with a salon and a stylist was still a boots-on-the-ground game of getting people out into salons and educating them face to face,” said Gohman. “Today, you can reach a stylist via your organic or paid media, as well as through influencers, just as easily as you can by actually going into the salon. And so, now, it’s more about making sure to hit them in all the ways that they’re consuming information.”
Executive moves:
- Alia Sirina is the new chief commercial and brand officer for The Body Shop. She was previously L’Occitane Group president of Europe, Middle East and export markets. The Body Shop is owned by private equity firm Auréa Group. “It’s the beginning of a purpose-led journey with a brand I’ve long admired for its unapologetic stand on what matters: activism, DE&I, empowerment and human connection,” Sirina shared in a LinkedIn post on Friday.
- Sarah Bethel is the new COO at Patrick Ta Beauty. She previously served as svp of global supply chains for Paula’s Choice Skincare. Patrick Ta Beauty is backed by Stride Consume Partners.
News to know:
- The world’s largest freestanding specialty beauty store is now open in Australia. Mecca, the retail chain launched in 1997, currently has more than 100 locations across Australia and New Zealand. Its newest store, opened on Friday, is a 40,000-square-foot flagship on Bourke Street within Melbourne’s central shopping district.
- E.l.f. Is set to expand its footprint in Dollar General locations this fall, E.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. “Sixty percent of E.l.f. purchases at Dollar General [are] coming from shoppers who never bought cosmetics at Dollar General, and 53% of these shoppers are new to the E.l.f. brand,” he said. The brand entered the value retailer in November. “Their partnership has been a win-win.”
- Martha Stewart was the first female self-made American billionaire and, as of last week, is set to be the oldest American woman to launch a skin-care range. The 84-year-old entrepreneur is set to launch Elm Biosciences in September alongside dermatologist Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali, who has worked on Rhode and will serve as co-founder and CMO of Stewart’s new venture.
- Ear-piercing, accessory and beauty retailer Claire’s has filed U.S. bankruptcy for the second time in seven years. “This decision is difficult, but a necessary one,” said Chris Cramer, CEO of Claire’s. “Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from bricks-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire’s and its stakeholders.” U.S. stores will remain open as the company navigates next steps for the business.
- Soko Glam, the K-beauty e-commerce retailer launched in 2012, will open shop-in-shop stores within 30 Space NK locations in the UK. SpaceNK was acquired by Ulta Beauty last month.
- Youthforia, the skin care-meets-makeup line launched in 2021, is shuttering. The brand found quick success thanks to its appearance on “Shark Tank” but was later embroiled in controversy after launching a deep foundation shade that was deemed “literally jet black” by influencer Golloria George.
Stat of the week:
According to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, consumer sentiment increased one point in July, from 60.7 to 61.7, marking only the second improvement in six months. Consumer sentiment is still down seven points from a year ago and 10 points from 2023.
In the headlines:
Dove responds to TikTok backlash after limited-edition products turn out to be packaging only. Brands cut customer service reps for AI chatbots as tariff costs climb. Is beauty’s founder-led era over? America’s political tensions threaten to turn the workplace upside down.
Listen in:
Nearly 15 years since its stateside debut, K-beauty is trending again. On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, co-host Lexy Lebsack interviews co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner about her recent reporting on the topic, diving into what’s fueling K-beauty’s renewed popularity, what trending ingredients are capturing attention and how affordability continues to play a key role in the category’s appeal.
Need a Glossy recap?
Bath & Body Works products will now be sold at college bookstores. ‘Don’t get distracted’: How Amika has evolved in a competitive hair-care category. This summer, beauty boards the Hampton Jitney. E.l.f Beauty CEO talks price increases and Sephora expansion: ‘We see the potential to more than double our business’. Sex is in for summer: How Neutrogena got in on #SteamyBookTok with its latest launch. ‘I’m just trying to keep in the game’: Beauty founders react to August’s new tariff rates.
